Choices
by ISSTIAUTNG
Summary: Life is what you make it, as the people of the magical world come to realize. The Marauders and Lily realize that the path to Hell is paved with good intentions, and they must decide what to make of themselves. Rated M for battle scenes and occasional foul language.


**_Author's Disclaimer: I do not own any content that is the property of J.K. Rowling._**

It was Christmas vacation, and she just arrived at her home in Cokeworth. Her father came to get her at the train station in London, and Mum waited for them at home with a delicious homemade meal prepared on the table. It was wonderful to eat Muggle food again, especially when there was a cold glass of Coca-Cola to accompany it.

"So, anything new you'd like to tell us?" her father had inquired, relaxing in his seat as they waited for Mum to bring out the dessert.

"Anything you might've overlooked when writing your letters?" Mum asked as she set down homemade dessert. Lily's mouth watered.

"Not really. Honestly, at school we don't have much down time. What with N.E.W.T.S. coming up next year, we barely have time to breathe!"

"They're riding your arse about those already, are they?"

"Bruce!"

"What, Carol? She's got all of seventh year to prepare for those exams, why can't they give our girl some time to have a bit of fun?"

"Dad, I've told you. These tests determine what jobs we are given. They are crucial to the rest of our lives!"

"And there's no reason that you build up a sweat about them already, dear. You have plenty of time ahead of you, and you will do outstandingly on all of them," Mum encouraged.

"Like they could think up a subject Lily hasn't mastered!"

"Bruce."

"What?"

She had giggled. Home, sweet home. She missed it there, but she also missed being able to do magic. She missed her friends as well. And there was also the issue of…

"Mum? Where's Petunia?"

"She's eating with the Dursley's again tonight, dear. She won't be back until late."

"Again? Didn't she eat there two nights ago?"

"Yes, and the night before that."

"And the night before that, and the night before that," Dad chorused in. "She might as well change her surname already for how much time she spends over there. A proposal's no doubt on its way."

"Bruce, you mustn't think like that. Petunia will snap out of it, she'll be sensible."

"No, she won't. If she doesn't already see that boy Vernon as a no good, dirty rotten scoundrel-"

"Bruce!"

"Then she won't ever have her vision cleared," Lily finished for him. She figured that's where she was. Petunia always took every excuse to get away from her, ever since she left for Hogwarts.

"But enough of that, dear. How are you?" Mum asked, clearing away all the dirty dishes and carrying them over to the sink. Lily couldn't help thinking of Hogwarts, where the plates are cleaned in an instant, with no effort.

"I'm well. Actually, I'd like a little time to unpack and settle in again, if you don't mind. We can play a game when I come back down, if you like."

"How about we go see a film? Your father said there's a good one in town."

"No, I'd like to stay in tonight. Besides, it's already rather late, and I've been travelling all day. I'm fairly tired."

She was in her room, just the way she left it at the end of summer holiday. Petunia's room was across the hall, and Mum and Dad were at the end of the floor. It was a small house, but it was comfortable and filled with childhood memories. She lugged her chest onto her bed and unlatched it, trying to decide how much to unpack and how much should stay put. She decided to unpack all her Muggle apparel, seeing as she probably wouldn't be setting foot into the Wizarding world for the entirety of her vacation. As she put her clothes away, she heard several pops, almost like them uncorking of a bottle of wine.

"Drinking already? I didn't think I was that awful," she shouted jokingly down the steps to her parents.

"What're you talking about, honey?" her father asked in response. She grabbed her wand out of habit and went down the stairs. Her parents were watching television and eating popcorn. Odd. The sound must've been them making popcorn over the fire.

"I must've been hearing things," she said. "Never mind. Do you want to play cards?" It was then that the front windows shattered. Her parents ducked down. Lily crouched low and went to the front of the house, wand at the ready.

"Lily! Get back here right this instant!" her father whisper-shouted.

"Shh! I'll be right back." When she turned back around to see into the front yard, the front door slammed open, revealing five Death Eaters in full apparel.

"Impedimenta!" Lily shouted, which halted all the hooded figures in their tracks. She used this time to sprint back to her parents, who were still crouched behind the sofa.

"Mum, Dad, you need to leave. Now."

"What? No! Lily, what's going on?" Her mother was frightened, and her father tried to comfort her, but neither comprehended the problem.

"Look, I'll explain later, but get in the car and drive. Somewhere. Anywhere. I don't care, just get out of here. There are witches and wizards in the front yard that want to hurt you. I can hold them off long enough to let you get away," her parents made to cut her off, but she continued, "but you need to leave."

"Lily, we're not leaving without you!"

"Yes, Dad, you will. I'll come later, okay? Go! They'll be here soon!" Lily followed her parents to the garage and opened the door to see the Death Eaters coming towards them. Lily charged them, transfiguring the Christmas lights that decorated her home exterior into large ropes and tied two Death Eaters together, and cast an Anti-Disapparition Jinx on the bonds. She could hear the car engine starting, so Lily sprinted towards the remaining Death Eaters to keep them in her front yard and away from her parents as they tried to escape.

"Flippedo!" she shouted, and a Death Eater was knocked back twenty feet into a tree, unconscious. Lily could see another group of Death Eaters coming towards her.

"Crucio!" one of them shouted, and Lily was blinded with pain. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, desperately hoping that it would end soon. The pain engulfed her body, stabbing her like white hot knives. She lay shrieking on the ground, while the Death Eater cackled madly above her. Suddenly, the pain lifted. Lily lay gasping for breath as her attacker leaned over her. The Death Eater shouted again, "Crucio!" Lily was overwhelmed by the pain, somehow seeming worse than the last. She screamed for what could've been days.

"Relashio!" someone shouted, and Lily's torture abruptly ceased.

She heard more footsteps as she struggled to her feet. She looked up to see several witches and wizards dueling the Death Eaters. Lily finally got to her feet, blinked a couple times to collect herself, and realized that there were more Death Eaters here than before, at least a dozen. Coming to her senses, Lily rushed towards where the main fighting was happening, but she was intercepted by an auror.

"Come now, Miss Evans. We need to leave," he shouted to be heard over the battle. He grabbed her arm, but she pulled him down to avoid being hit by a stray curse. Lily hurried past him before he got back up and turned the corner to run into a Death Eater. As they both fell to the floor the Death Eater's mask fell off, causing Lily to come face to face with her childhood friend, Severus Snape. Trying to push back the shock that she felt, Lily turned her wand on him.

"Patrificus Totalus," Lily commanded coldly, and watched her ex-best friend crumple unconsciously to the floor. She stood up shakily and rushed past him to the main fight, firing jinxes at any Death Eater she could see.

A large Death Eater came at her, and she dueled him with all the energy she could muster.

"Sectumsempra!" shouted the masked figure. Lily fell to the ground, feeling large amounts of blood issuing from the slashes on her arms and torso. She felt someone pick her up, and then they weren't at her home anymore. She was in the arms of the auror, and he was running to the house that they had appeared in front of. He kicked the door multiple times until an older woman opened the door. She gasped at the site of the young girl bleeding profusely.

"Why didn't you take her to Mungo's, Moody?" The woman asked, all the while directing him to the dining room where she instructed him to lay Lily down.

"You know as much as I do that they have their hands full. She wouldn't see a Healer for hours," he replied. "I figured you would be able to help." With that, he left.

"I've never seen these types of wounds before," the woman muttered, slicing the remains of Lily's shirt away to better examine the cuts. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry when she heard Lily groaning in pain.

"They aren't…normal cuts…" the young redhead moaned.

"You know the curse they used on you?" the older woman asked. If the girl knew something about them, then she'd be able to help her.

"He… curse…Sect…um…sem…pra…" Lily groaned. It was getting harder for her to breathe.

"Mrs. P, what's going on?" Lily heard a boy ask, but she couldn't see him.

"Not now, go back upstairs. Dear, you said it was a curse?"

"Yes," Lily moaned, and she saw a boy appear next to the woman.

"Get Essence of Dittany from the pantry, along with bandages," the woman ordered the boy, and he left immediately. "Honey, keep talking to me. I know it hurts. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Lily."

"Lily, what a pretty name. Where do you go to school?" the woman was washing the gashes with water from her wand.

"Hog…warts…"

"That's wonderful, dear, absolutely wonderful. Keep your eyes open, I know it's hard." The boy reappeared at the woman's side with what she had asked. "Unstopper the Dittany for me," the woman commanded. The boy handed her the open vial, and she put it on the cuts. Lily could feel them closing up, and her vision cleared. Lily tried to sit up, but the boy pushed her back down.

"You?" Lily enquired of the boy she now recognized to be Sirius Black.

"You need to stay still, dear, I still need to bandage these to ensure that they don't open up again," the woman insisted. After each bandage, the woman muttered an incantation which made the cuts ache less.

"What're you doing here?" Lily asked Sirius, once the kind woman had finished bandaging her wounds.

"I live here," he replied.

"Hush, now's not the time. She's had a trying day, and she needs to rest," commanded the woman.

"No," Lily insisted, sitting up. She felt slightly dizzy at the sudden movement, but it was necessary. "I need to go back. I have to go back; I need to make sure my parents made it out alright." Lily went to stand, but the woman stopped her.

"Dear, I know how much you want to go back, but you wouldn't be helping anyone. You'd only inhibit them, because they'd be trying to defend you. I know you don't know much of what's going on, but you're going to be staying here for a little while," she said. "Sirius, go up to the spare room and make it ready," the woman told him, and he hurried away. "Now dear, I'm going to help you to your room. It's up a flight of stairs. Can you walk, sweetie?"

Lily nodded resolutely. "Who are you?"

"Oh, my. I completely forgot to make introductions. I assume you know Sirius Black; it seemed that you had recognized him. My name is Dorea Potter. My husband, Charles Potter, is an Auror. As you said you attend Hogwarts, and since you recognized Sirius, I gather that you're familiar with my son, James Potter?" Lily nodded, trying to take all of this in as Mrs. Potter helped her up the stairs. "Good, good. Now, here's where you'll sleep tonight."

Lily let Mrs. Potter tuck her into the large, comfortable bed. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter. For everything."

"Nonsense, it was nothing. Get a good night's rest, dear." And it must have been from the lack of blood, but Lily fell asleep immediately.

When Mrs. Potter left the room, she saw Sirius standing next to the doorway. "Thank you for your help, Sirius."

"Don't mention it, Mrs. P. What happened?" Sirius asked, concerned for his friend.

"I'm not sure, but I'm confident that my husband will explain when he returns," she said, sounding like she was calming herself rather than the boy in front of her. "But," Mrs. Potter's voice was firm now, "You will not tell anyone about this, understand? Not Peter, not Remus, not even James."

"I won't Mrs. P, I promise," Sirius replied, startled with the strict side of Mrs. Potter that rarely showed.

She sighed. "Good. Now, go on to bed. I'll explain what I can in the morning."

It was light out when Lily woke suddenly to a wave of pain. She groaned as she threw off the covers that were over her and gasped at the amount of blood that covered her clothes and the blankets. "Mrs. Potter?" Lily asked, her voice only coming out as a whisper. It was then that Lily realized there was a full meal on the nightstand next to the bed she was sleeping in, and next to the food was a note.

_Dear Lily,  
I am sorry, but I will be out of the house for most of the day. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call on our house elf, Lucy, or dear Sirius for whatever you may need.  
I hope you are feeling well.  
Sincerely,  
Dorea Potter_

Lily wasn't quite sure how one calls a house elf, but figured that saying its name would be a good place to start, especially since she couldn't move.

"Lucy?" Lily asked hesitantly, and then muffled a scream when a small creature appeared with a pop next to the bed.

"Miss called?" the elf asked, her eyes widening at the sight of Lily.

"Um, yes. Er, could you bring Sirius Black up here?" Lily wasn't quite sure what the little elf could do, but she didn't want to trust the poor thing to attempt to fix whatever was wrong with Lily's bandages.

"Right away, miss," Lucy said, and was gone with a crack.

A minute later brought a knock at the door. "Lily?" Sirius enquired hesitantly, only opening the door slightly. "Are you decent?"

"Well, no, and that's entirely why I asked for you. Will you just come in here and help me?" Looking confused, he opened the door fully and closed it immediately behind him.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little at seeing the state of her. "I thought we put Essence of Dittany on it. I thought Mrs. P charmed the dressings," he mused, rushing over to Lily's side.

"Yeah, well," she ground out, her eyesight darkening around the edges, "if you could ask that elf to get it all out again, we'll try that and see how it works."

"Lucy!" Sirius barked, seeing Lily struggle to stay conscious.

"Yes, Master Sirius?"

"Bring up the bandages and the Essence of Dittany immediately."

"Yes, sir." Lucy popped away, but returned a moment later with everything he asked for, plus a pair of scissors.

"Lily, you need to open your eyes," he said shakily, trying to cut through her shirt gently to get to her wounds.

"Taking…advantage…of me…Black?" she joked quietly, but her eyes remained shut.

"Come on now, Lily, open your eyes, I need your help with this."

"With…what?"

"How am I supposed to get these dressings off without hurting you?"

"Hurts…enough…already…just…cut 'em…"

Sirius took out the scissors and started cutting, wincing with each gasp of pain Lily made. "Okay, okay. I got them off. How much Dittany do I use?"

"Mmm?"

"Lily! Come on! Help me help you! How much Dittany do I need to put on?"

"A thin…line…along…the wound…"

"Alright, I'm doing that. Is it helping you? They're closing up a bit…Lily?"

"Mmm. Doesn't…hurt…as much…"

"Good. Now, I don't know what Mrs. P did to those bandages the first time. Maybe Remus would know…Lily, can I go get Remus and ask him?"

"NO…just…wrap 'em…ask her…later…"

"Okay, I'm wrapping them." He saw her wincing. "Am I doing it wrong? Is this too tight?"

"'s fine…just…hurts…"

"I know, I'm sorry. Alright, I finished. Now, I need to go Floo Mrs. P…I'll leave Lucy to make sure you're okay. Lucy!"

"Yes, Master Sirius?"

"Stay with her until I come back."

"Yes, sir."

Lily faded out of consciousness.

Sirius sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the den.

"Padfoot, where'd you go?" James asked, turning around to see him. "Mate, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," he mumbled, going towards the fireplace.

"Mate, you've got blood all over your robes. Now be honest with me, what's going on?" When Sirius ignored him again, James stepped in front of his path to the fireplace. "Well?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Not right now. I need to Floo your mum."

"But she's-"

"I know where she is! But I need to talk to her, right now. It's important, mate."

"Are you alright? Just tell me that."

"Yes. I'm fine. Now will you quit your interrogation and move?" With that, James stepped out of Sirius' way. He grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, tossed it into the fire, stated clearly "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Fourth Floor, Dilys Derwent Ward," and stuck his head into the flames, ignoring the unpleasant sensation. The next thing he saw was a very clean floor and feet moving around.

"Mrs. Potter?" he called out, and he saw a pair of feet coming towards him.

"Sirius! What are doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Lily woke up, and I suppose her wounds opened back up during the night, because her nightgown and the sheets were all soaked in blood. I put more Essence of Dittany on them and I put fresh wrappings on them, but I couldn't remember what charm you had put on the dressings, and I don't know how long it'll take until they open up again."

"Alright, dear, don't you worry. I will be there in a jiffy."

"How's Mr. P?"

She sighed. "Sleeping. That's all I know. He's stable, though, and I suppose that's what matters. Anyways, it won't bode well if I hover. I'm heading home now."

"See you, Mrs. P." Sirius pulled his head out of the hearth to meet the expectant stare of James Potter.

"So?"

"So, what, James?"

"What's so bloody important that you had to talk to Mum, who's been at Mungo's with Dad all day?"

"Ask her," Sirius said, noticing Mrs. Potter walking through the door.

"Mum! Why are you here? Is Dad alright?"

"James, please, go be with Remus and Peter, it's rude to leave your guests unattended. Your father's fine, he's sleeping," and with a cold stare from his mother, James didn't dare protest, not then. "Goodness, Sirius, you didn't tell me he's been bothering you!"

Sirius chuckled a bit at that. "Give your son some credit, Mrs. P."

"Yes, well, let's go see how she's doing, shall we? Who's up there with her now?"

"Lucy."

When Mrs. Potter arrived in the spare room, Lily was unconscious and blood was seeping through her new bandages.

"I don't understand these wounds," Mrs. Potter murmured, her forehead creased with concentration. Turning to Sirius, Mrs. Potter demanded, "You put Essence of Dittany on them before you re-wrapped new bandages?"

"Yes, Lily told me to put a thin line along each wound. Why won't they stop bleeding? Shouldn't we take her to Mungo's? Will she be alright?" Sirius was becoming panicked with the sight of his friend lying in her own blood.

"Sh, Sirius, you must calm down. St. Mungo's is full and low on provisions, you know that. The only reason Mr. Potter was seen to is because he is an Auror. Could you Floo Dumbledore and ask if we could bring Lily to the Hospital Wing? I fear that these wounds can only be closed with the counter-curse, and Madame Pomfrey has more experience than me and may recognize the curse."

Sirius rushed down the stairs again, only to be met with James, Remus, and Peter in the den, blocking his path to the hearth. As the three boys opened their mouths to get to the bottom of Sirius' odd behavior, Sirius exploded, "Unless one of you nosy wankers is bleeding out of your arse, move out of my way and leave me alone." Shocked to be on the receiving end of Sirius' anger, they moved just enough for him to get to the hearth. Again taking a pinch of Floo powder, tossed it into the fire, and stated clearly, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster Dumbledore's office," before sticking his head into the flames.

The three remaining Marauders looked at one another with concern and confusion. What was going on?

_**Author's Note: Thank you for reading! This is my first story, and I would truly appreciate feedback before I update. I will not use review statistics as ultimatums, but I value your opinion!**_


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